A resource for legislative bodies considering laws limiting the use of plastic bags

State Preemption Bill Threatens NYC's #BYOBag Law

On May 5, 2016, the New York City Council adopted the #BYOBag law, which requires that all retailers in NYC charge a 5-cent minimum fee for each carryout bag provided at check-out. Due to preemption legislation introduced by state legislators later that month and a resulting compromise, implementation of the law was delayed from October 1, 2016 until February 15, 2017.

New York State Senate (S. 4158) & Assembly (A. 4883) voted in February 2017 to put a moratorium NYC's #BYOBag law and on February 14, 2017 Governor Cuomo signed the moratorium bill into law. Under the moratorium, the NYC City Council cannot move forward with a new bill involving fees until January 1, 2018 and such a bill would not be able to be implemented until 270 days after adoption.

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Albany_Give NYC a Chance

Go to BagItNYC's Facebook page for action alerts including step-by-step instructions on how to call your state legislators! Also sign this change.org petition and visit Council Member Brad Lander's website for extensive background on NYC's #BYOBag law.